The Forgotten Animorph
by All4thebasilisk
Summary: There's another Animorph out there one who has become more than the others. This is her story.
1. Chapter 1

My name is Dera. It will always stay that way, I know. It's the only part of me that will.

I don't believe in trying to disguise myself, or any of the other stuff that my oh-so-paranoid colleagues do. If _they_ find me, _they_ find me. So what? How will _they_ deal with me or whatever I am at that moment? My family, friends… _they _can't reach them.

I guess I'll start with my partners' story. It goes back further than mine, anyway.

It all started when they cut through an abandoned construction site off Central Avenue. They weren't supposed to because of things like axe murderers. What they found was much worse.

They watched in shock as a spaceship landed. Yes, a real live spaceship. And out of the spaceship came an alien. He was an Andalite prince named Elfangor, and he was dying.

The dying Elfangor had crash-landed after he and the Andalite fleet were ambushed by an evil species of parasites called the Yeerks. He had only…

Whoa, you're saying. Yeerks? What are Yeerks? Yeerks are parasites. Instead of eating into your stomachs, though, Yeerks aim higher.

They will wriggle through your ear, before you can cry out. Spread their slimy selves around your brains and fully take over your body. Access your memories and use them to be you while you have no choice but to cower helplessly in the corner of your mind, a helpless prisoner.

The Yeerks have been spreading through the galaxy, infesting all the species that they can. They took the Hork-Bajir, walking weapons with blades all over. They took the Taxxons, massive centipedes with a hunger that will never be satisfied. And then, the Yeerk Empire set their eyes on Earth.

They have been spreading through humanity like a plague, secretly infesting thousands of humans with no one knowing.

And how could we? The Yeerks can act exactly like their host by accessing and applying memories. Your best friend could be a Controller. Your family. Teachers. Maybe you are one. I don't know.

So who is fighting these Yeerks? Who can keep this monster at bay? The Andalite, guardians of the galaxy. Without them, we would all be lost.

They came to Earth in one of their Dome Ships. They expected a fast battle. But the Yeerks were waiting in ambush, led by Visser Three, the only Andalite-Controller ever. They shot down the Dome Ship, and damaged Elfangor's ship enough that he had to land.

When Elfangor landed, my associates saw him. The only thing left to do, the only way to save Earth, was to give these five kids the Andalite technology of morphing- to change into any animal they wished, in order to fight the Yeerks. Now, they're Earth's only hope.

Jake: the leader, though he didn't ask for it. Strong and decisive, he is the perfect one to lead us. Unfortunately, his brother Tom is a controller.

Rachel is fast, furious, deadly, and beautiful. Besides being a fashion queen and looking like a supermodel, Rachel has a warrior hidden deep inside of her. Now, it can finally emerge.

Marco is Jake's best friend. Though he often cracks jokes, he is ruthless and smart. He'll do what needs to be done.

Cassie loves animals and lives in a barn. Surprisingly, she is Rachel's best friend although they are complete opposites. She is extremely sensitive and perceptive.

Then there's Tobias. He came from a messed up home, was a total bully magnet until that fateful night. But all that changed soon enough. You see, you can only stay in a morph for two hours or you will be unable to demorph. Tobias is a Red-Tailed Hawk now. He will always be one.

They called themselves the Animorphs, the five of them. Animal Morphers. Soon enough they managed to rescue Elfangor's younger brother, Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthil (Ax) from the Dome Ship. They fight the Yeerks and are actually keeping them at bay. Amazing.

My story begins two months after the Animorphs were given the power to morph. I live on Haelramat Avenue, next to the block with the construction site. I am also an avid reader and cut through the site often to go to the library.

One bright spring afternoon I got out my library books and left for the library. On my way through the construction site, I spotted a lone cat. It purred at me, and I smilingly attempted to meow back.

Suddenly, it turned and started to walk slowly through the dirty old pipes and rotting wood. I followed cautiously. Then it disappeared.

I shrugged. I always meow at cats and they never stay, so this wasn't so odd. What was strange was a small metal cylinder wedged into a wall.

I pulled it out and twisted open the lid, when suddenly…

This is my _Hirac Delest_- my final statement. I will record my memories before the Yeerks annihilate all trace of me… 

I went home and listened to the thought speak voice of Elfangor-Sirinal-Shamtul, Andalite prince. And then I listened to the recording again. And again.

I had stumbled into something dangerous and exciting, the likes of which I'd never seen before.

A/N: Finally! First chapter's done! That wasn't soo terrible, was it? If it was, feel free to tell me. I don't mind! Also tell me if I messed up on anything. Nobody's perfect, after all! (Hmm… in that case I must be nobody.J)

Disclaimer: No, I don't own Animorphs. If I did, I would have stretched it out at least ten more books. (Oh, and murdered Jake and let Aldrea take over Cassie's body completely, forever.) It belongs to K. A. Applegate (duh).


	2. Chapter 2

Early the next morning, I went back to the construction site to search for other mementos of the great Andalite, Elfangor-Sirinal-Shamtul. I now knew his memories almost by heart, and was eager to see if I could find something else.

The Time Matrix would be impossible to procure. I couldn't dig that far down without attracting unwanted attention, and I, power-hungry as I was, wasn't foolish enough to let the Matrix fall in the wrong hands.

But if Elfangor's Hirac Delest had escaped his ship before it had either left Earth or more probably been destroyed, why couldn't something else?

I was hoping for a picture of the alien, or something that would show me how Andalites or Yeerks or Taxxons looked. Instead, I found something else.

It was a blue cube, about four inches in diameter. It seemed to grow with an unearthly light, which reinforced my suspicions that it was Elfangor's. But what was it?

Then the cat reappeared.

It was a perfectly normal stray, with a blue-gray coloring on its face. The rest of this mysterious cat was pure white, with a gold tail. It was perfect in form, and also looked totally ordinary.

Except that it was the cat that had led me toward Elfangor's _Hirac Delest. _

I stared at it, and then let out a timid meow.

He answered.

As I heard the yowling, I heard in my head, Place your hand flat against the cube. 

"D-did you just talk to me?" I asked the cat. No answer.

Shrugging, I touched the cube.

A tingle engulfed me. I felt a warmth envelope my body, and for some reason, I recalled some of Elfangor's last words.

I have given the morphing power to five human youths… 

The morphing power! Was this it? I could scarcely believe that something so great and magical existed within my reach!

With much trepidation, I leaned over and gently let my finger make contact with the cat's soft fur. I remembered Elfangor's narration of acquiring a Taxxon, and focused on making this cat a part of me.

To my surprise, he became limp, as if he had fallen asleep. A bit concerned, I let go and a few seconds later, he jumped up and raced away.

I checked my watch. 7:54. It would take me 40 minutes to get to school that day, and I only had thirty-six. Well, if I was going to be late, I might as well have a good reason for myself.

I stuck the cube in a hole in a cement block and thought about becoming the lithe, graceful cat. And almost too quickly, my hair was sucked into my head.

I felt it go while screaming, because my feet and legs had become catlike before my eyes.

SHPROOT! A gold tail shot out of my butt.

My hand shrunk until it was only a palm and finger nails. My fingernails hardened and rounded until they were cat's claws.

My face… it was bulging outwards and shrinking all at once. My body was a misshapen mess.

I abruptly stopped screaming as my vocal cords became like those of a feline. I promptly began yowling.

Then very suddenly, I was a cat.

I was shocked and intrigued all at once. I had done it! Achieved one of Man's greatest dreams- I had become a cat.

This kitty's mind was calm. Bored, almost. He knew that he was boss of the neighborhood, yeah, yeah, yeah; everyone loved or feared him, but who cared? As long as he was eating birds and garbage and had a place to sleep, the cat was happy.

I was not happy. My watch, lying on the dirt beside me, read 8:03. I had less than half an hour to get to school on time. I raced out of the construction site as fast as I could, and discovered that cats were pretty fast runners. Then suddenly…

"Don't move, Andalite, or I'll shoot!" A woman had stepped into my path. Of course, from Elfangor's _Hirac Delest_, I knew that she was obviously a Controller. Taken over by a Yeerk and never to have free will again.

In your dreams, Yeerk scum! The voice had come from my head, much like Elfangor's thought-speech.

The Controller swung her weapon around to point directly at me.

A blur leaped on top of her and clawed at her face.

That blur was I. The cat's mind had said attack, and so it did, pushing my puny human mind aside as it took care of himself.

It scared me how easily the cat had taken over.

"Aaah!" The Controller tried to push me off, dropping her laser-Dracon Beam, I guessed- in the process.

I scratched her neck hard, causing a trickle of blood.

I soon saw the slug leave the ear. It made me mad, the way it only used her, then left her to die alone.

I pounced on it and swallowed it in one gulp. I never was a picky eater. Then I walked back to the hurt ex-Controller.

Are you okay? Sorry I had to hurt you. 

"I'm fine," she wheezed. "I don't think that I'll die, although the Yeerk seemed to think so. Thank you for freeing me."

No problem. What's your name? 

"Basi. Basi Lisker. I live next door. I…the Yeerk saw you half morphed and tried to kill you and gain favor in Visser Three's eyes. Maybe be promoted or something."

Ah. I've heard of Visser Three. 

She looked skeptically at me. "I thought that all you Andalites hated and feared Visser Three. Why do you say it as though you haven't been drilled to despise him all your life?"

I laughed. I'm no Andalite. I'm a human, just like you! I just learnt about the Yeerks yesterday! I told her my story.

She was impressed, and as we said goodbye, she expressed her gratitude.

Uh, if you don't mind, Basi, could you do me a favor? 

"Anything!"

8:25. Could you _please_ drive me to school? 

A/N: this was originally supposed to be part of the first chapter, so there might be some problems with it. Please point them out; I enjoy getting feedback from my readers!

Disclaimer: No, I don't own Animorphs. If I did, I would have stretched it out at least ten more books. (Oh, and murdered Jake and let Aldrea take over Cassie's body completely, forever.) It belongs to K. A. Applegate (duh).


	3. Chapter 3

A week later, Basi and I met again, this time in her house. The Yeerks would try to reinfest her, and we needed to stop them. Duh.

"How about I morph snake and strangle them?" I suggested.

Basi rolled her eyes. "That wouldn't work because A, you don't have a snake morph, B, you couldn't stop ten human-controllers at once, and C, they have guns. Welcome to the world of reality!"

I groaned. "I know, I know. But what better idea is there?"

"One that doesn't get us killed, I hope!"

Then the doorbell rang.

We looked at each other.

"You get it," Basi said instantly.

I got up and walked over to the window. Peering through, I saw nothing. Confused, I peeked again.

This time, a boy stood there.

He had brown hair, just a little over his ears. He was maybe five feet tall, but managed to look taller. A completely typical guy, just the type that the Yeerks might send. And he was staring directly at me.

No choice but to open the door. No choice but to give up both Basi and me to a life of being enslaved by the Yeerks. There was no way out of it. I opened the door.

The guy smiled, revealed perfect white teeth.

"Hi," he said. "I'm Erek King."

"Dera Solofel."

"Can I come in? It's kind of cold out here."

"Odd to be cold in the middle of May." I was amazed at myself. Here he was, the enemy, and I was standing there with him, discussing the _weather!_

Erek followed me to the living room, looking around, interested, as we walked.

Basi jumped when she saw him.

"Is he…?" She asked tersely.

"I'm not a Controller," Erek said pleasantly. "My name is Erek King, and I'm here to help you."

"H-how did you find us in my house?"

"Mostly because the Yeerks think that I'm one of them. I am in the Sharing with your sister, Dera, and she told me that you had Prince Elfangor's _Hirac Delest_."

"The Sharing?"

"A sort of boy scout thing, which is a front for a recruitment organization for the Yeerks."

I turned pale. "You mean that Dalla is a…"

"No," Erek reassured me. "Your sister is as of now, uninfested. But soon, the Yeerks will take her, when she becomes a full member of the Sharing, like me. She only told me about the _Hirac Delest_, and no other Yeerks. Otherwise, she'd already be a Controller."

"You said _other Yeerks_," Basi accused. "You're a Controller."

Erek smiled. "I am not Yeerk-infested. It would be impossible to do so. You see, I am a member of the android race of the Chee. Years ago, we came to Earth with our masters, the Pemalites. Even then, their race was dying out. They transferred their essence to wolves and made dogs, even as the last Pemalites died. We've been stuck here ever since. "

I took this all in stride. Reading a billion Star Wars books had prepared me for droids, and I had tuned out of what should and shouldn't be real when I had first morphed.

"So you're kind of like Guri," I stated.

"Guri?"

"An assassin droid from Star Wars designed to look totally human."

Basi groaned. "Oh, no. We have a sci-fi nut in our midst."

"Actually," Erek corrected me, "I'm programmed not to kill, and this isn't my natural body. I use a hologram."

"You mean your body is fake?"

Erek's reply was to drop his holograms and reveal a canine metal structure. Then he turned his hologram back on so that it looked like a Grizzly Bear.

I backed up despite myself. Then Basi hit Erek with a torrent of questions.

"How did Dalla find the _Hirac Delest_? How did you know to look here? How did you convince the Yeerks that you weren't infested?"

"Slow down, slow down," Erek said, holding up a hand. "I can't answer everything at once. My programming isn't _that _superior."

"Dalla was just trying to borrow a brush from you, and saw the _Hirac Delest._ The Sharing has her address, and I hacked into the database. When I came to your house, your mom told me where you were. I have a Yeerk inside my head, locked up."

He showed us the Yeerk. I was repulsed, but didn't say anything.

"Now," Basi said, "we'd better save Dalla."

"Erek," I asked curiously, "are you with us?"

Erek regretfully shook his head. "As I said earlier, I am programmed against violence. I will be of no use. Basi, you'll have to come hide with us Chee- you're hunted. But I can refer you, Dera, to some of my non-Chee friends who fight the Yeerks."

Basi's eyes narrowed. "Who are they?"

Erek smiled an odd smile. "They are humans who can morph. They call themselves…" He paused for dramatic effect. "The Animorphs."

A/N: Was that so bad? I don't think that it deserves my friend's opinion. But she hates Animorphs, so I can't really say that this had an unbiased review. I wouldn't mind some biased reviews favoring Animorphs, though. Feel free to review!

Disclaimer: No, I don't own Animorphs. If I did, I would have stretched it out at least ten more books. (Oh, and murdered Jake and let Aldrea take over Cassie's body completely, forever.) It belongs to K. A. Applegate (duh).


	4. Chapter 4

I met Erek at The Sharing's headquarters the next afternoon. He smiled at me.

"Ready? The Animorphs are looking forward to meeting you."

"I wish I felt the same way," I muttered. I wasn't interested in a clique of self-centered "heroes" at the moment, but I'd do anything for Dalla.

Erek's superb hearing picked up my comment, and his hologram took on an anxious look. "Just behave yourself."

I was annoyed. Why wouldn't I behave? I wanted my sister safe, didn't I?

Just then, a screech sounded overhead. I looked up and saw a couple of hawks soaring at about the same proximity to each other. Erek's Animorphs, obviously. Then, something struck a chord in my mind, and once again, Elfangor's last words popped up.

_I have given the morphing power to five human youths…_

Counting the Animorphs, I came up with six. But even so, I was nearly positive that these were Elfangor's youths. Which meant that one of them was his son…

I then recalled the _Hirac Delest_ telling me that Elfangor's brother would join his son and five others. Now, I was positive that these were Elfangor's friends.

And I was just as positive that I wasn't going to tell them about the Hirac Delest. Unless, of course, Erek had already told them.

The eagle swooped down and demorphed. Looking at her, I could tell that this Animorph was one of the four obscure Animorphs. Besides being female, she had an aura of barely controlled violence about her. I'm particularly good at seeing others' auras.

The osprey that landed next demorphed into a boy with an aura of cunning and ruthlessness. I couldn't be positive that he was Elfangor's son, but he seemed like progeny of Elfangor's.

Two more landed next, a girl with an aura of one in touch with nature, and a boy who felt like he had the whole weight of the world on his shoulders. I laughed at his naiveté. I knew that life was harder than just being the leader of some guerrilla group.

The next bird was obviously Aximili, Elfangor's brother. Not only was his aura alien and unfamiliar, the sense of duty he had nearly matched Elfangor's.

The last Animorph that came was in a red-tailed hawk morph. He made no move to demorph, and the others didn't seem to find this odd. He had been trapped in hawk morph on their very first mission, and since then had been given the power to morph again by a powerful creature named-

_What was I doing! _I stopped in shock. Somehow I had just accidentally reached into the hawk's- Tobias, I now knew was his name- mind and plucked out all the information I wanted to know. Well, if I could, I might as well continue. You can't just ignore a power like that. Never mind it probably wasn't ethical. After all, desperate times called for desperate measures. I continued reading Tobias's mind, ignoring the uneasy voice in the back of my head.

"No way. _You're_ Elfangor's son?" I asked aloud. Erek looked at me sharply.

"How'd you know that?" His voice was both accusing and alarmed.

I thought fast. "I could tell from, um, his noble bearing, so like a Andalite, yet human."

The boy I had originally thought of as Elfangor's son, Marco, raised his eyes at me. He, like the others, didn't believe me. But there was no other way I possibly could have known about Tobias.

The animal girl, Cassie, was staring at me, trying to get into my head. I quickly scanned her mind.

_She's obviously lying. Who is she? How did she tell that Tobias was who he was? Does she also know things about the rest of us? Wait, she's staring right at me, as though she knows what I'm thinking-_

I quickly turned from her to the boy beside her, Jake.

_Is she a danger? Erek must have told her about Tobias. He said that she found Elfangor's Hirac Delest. Maybe she really is telling the truth. She's looking at me, just like everyone else, waiting for me to talk. Does she also know that I'm sort of the leader here? I'd better say something-_

"Okay, we're here to help Dera here save her sister, and possibly get some information from an insider in the Sharing," Jake told us. "Dera, I'm Jake. These are Rachel, Cassie, Ax, and Marco, and Tobias is overhead. You have morphing powers, we've been told."

I nodded.

"I guess that makes you an Animorph," Marco commented.

"Is that official?" I asked, noticing that Erek had slipped out. I felt him move through the woods behind us, pleasantly surprised that my strange powers were not just limited to living things. "You know, the only morph I've got is a cat."

_Do I dare to let this stranger become one of us? _Jake wondered. _The others all agreed before the meeting that, if needed, we would make her an Animorph. But now that the moment has come, it's all my decision- my fault if it doesn't work out-_

"For God's sake," I said, amused. "If they already made the decision, then it's just one-sixth your fault. Stop obsessing over it!" Then I realized that I had spoken aloud.

"Did you just read my mind?" Jake demanded of me.

Cassie's mouth fell open in horror. Rachel, whose mind had not even been touched by me, looked aghast at the thought of someone knowing what she had been thinking. Aximili reeled back, glaring at me. Tobias rose a bit more, as though being a mile away would save him from me. Marco just laughed.

"Well, that explains the little bit about Tobias's father," he said calmly. "My vote is still with her joining. Imagine that power on our side!"

I grinned at him. He seemed more my type than the other Animorphs. "I only found out about it just now," I explained. "That's why I'm not great at keeping quiet about what I hear. So, am I an Animorph?"

Jake nodded, almost to himself. "That makes two for," Marco said cheerfully. "Ax, I assume you're with your prince, that's three." He looked at me. "Normally, I'd be completely against this sort of thing- I'm very suspicious- but you're just too good a prize to lose."

Cassie looked up. "I'll vote for if Dera swears not to use her powers on us."

"Done," I said calmly. "They probably won't last anyway."

Rachel and Tobias were still silent, but the majority was still for me. I was officially an Animorph.

"Battle morphs, everyone. Dera, if you don't have anything-"

"I think I may be able to become something without acquiring it," I interrupted.

The others looked at me in astonishment, but I had already become a female Andalite with a longer, wicked-looking blade that I had somehow made poison-tipped.

There was no time to wonder at how I had done something so incredible. The others were already almost totally morphed, and we were set to attack the Sharing- and save Dalla.

A/N: I know, I didn't get any feedback. But I was just really in the mood to write some more, so I did, and here it is! Just a little plug here- there's a really good story by tobiasrox about something vaguely similar to this. Read it! You won't be disappointed!

Disclaimer: No, I don't own Animorphs. If I did, I would have stretched it out at least ten more books. (Oh, and murdered Jake and let Aldrea take over Cassie's body completely, forever.) It belongs to K. A. Applegate (duh).


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